The Return
by FightingF0rW0lves
Summary: 'I don't think that you understand, Judy. I thought that he died years ago, but here he is, living and breathing. And it makes me happy, knowing that he is alive! So glare at me all you want, Carrots, Nothing is stopping me from being by his side, like where I am supposed to be.' (First Zootopia FanFic!) Rated T for sexual themes and teen content (in near future!)
1. Chapter 1

"Years before Zootopia stood before us, before animals had evolved into what they are now, humans were the ones that were dominant. Humans had been the superior species for thousands of years. We, as a species, wanted to be in control forever, except that was taken away from us. The animals of the world started to revolt against us, for what we did over the thousands of years of our lifetime. They wanted to kill us off and then become the dominant species of Planet Earth. But, we fought back. For years…" The teacher droned on and on about this all the time, about how the animals were the ones to blame for our problems. The war, sure, but everything else? This is included, but not limited to: World Hunger, Human Problems, ect. As I stared out the window to the wall that was built, separating our world, the Human world, to the world of the animals, or Zootopia, as they like to call it. Me, I saw it as a world of possibilities, right behind the wall.

"Mr. Noah Cartige," I perked up, hearing my name being called. The teacher was looking at me weirdly, as if studying me for whatever reason. I looked around the rest of the room, seeing no one else in the class room. "Class is over, and so being the school day…" I nodded my head and grabbed my things.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Wolfe…" I said, quietly. I got up, and ran out the door. I heard Mr. Wolfe mutter something under his breath, but I thought nothing of it. Walking out into the hallway, I made a beeline for the bathroom. I ran right to the nearest sink, looking down the whole time. Looking up, I saw that my black hair had gotten in the way of my left eye. Pushing it out of the way, I looked right into my eyes, the blue in them being a little too bright to look at, even for myself. Grabbing my things, I started to head out, fixing the stupid button up shirt my mother made me wear that day. I had also been forced to wear stupid khaki pants. My mother was always up for making me look nice, but I have no idea why, even at my age of 13.

The town I lived in was small, but not small enough where everyone knew everyone. I was walking next to the wall, which turned into a chain link fence (because government) and you could see right to the other side, to the animal's side. While I was looking at this wall earlier, I never got this close and personal with the wall.

As I was walking and playing on my cell phone, I started to hear what sounded like talking. Of course, I was getting to the point where the wall turned into a chain link fence, so I didn't think much of it. But, as I got closer, the voices sounded young, around my age. (Although, I have a deeper voice for a 13 year old, so I get weird looks from time to time.) Finally, I got to the point where I could see the people who were speaking, or more like animals who were speaking. My breath hitched. I walked slower, hoping that they wouldn't hear me or look over at me. I kept walking, slowing down tremendously and taking in the talking animals' that were talking. Both were foxes, one being taller than the other, and, from the sounds of it, the smaller one had a deeper voice than the other. I slightly chuckled at this, but not too loud where they would hear me.

"Why don't you think this is a good idea?" The taller one asked. Looking over with just my eyes, I saw that the taller one had his back facing towards me, while the smaller one was facing me, but looking up at the taller one. Both looked young, and both were wearing torn clothes that looked 5 years old. I couldn't help but feel bad.

"Nick, listen, this cannot happen. I mean, we are too young first off, and second, how would we get the funds to even go along with this?" The smaller one asked. I slowed down without me even noticing, and started to listen in on their conversation.

"Finnick, listen. You aren't thinking of the possibilities, and the money! Think of the money, at least!" Nick, the taller one I guessed, had told him, moving his arms around to emphasize his point. Finnick followed his hand gestures. I followed them as well, stopping just to keep up with them. When he was done, he started to turn around, and we made eye contact. As a matter of fact, both boys were looking in my direction, and both were staring right into my eyes.

I froze up, not expecting them to see and/or hear me, so all I did was stare right back at them. Their green and brownish red eyes clashing with my bright blue ones, and no one moved or said a word, that is until I got the guts to say something.

"Uh… Hello…" I say nervously, moving my hand in a simple wave. They didn't seem impressed so I walked closer to them, my legs shaking slightly. "My, name is Noah P. Cartige, and I was just walking by. I didn't mean to disturb, or to seem like a small creep…" I tell them, still as nervous as before.

When I got to the fence, Finnick seemed to move closer to me, taking me in and watching me intently. I did the same, wondering what he was doing. When he finally got to the fence, his muzzle poked through slightly, and I bent down, looking him square in the eyes. We had a small talk between just looking at each other, and it looked like he didn't like me one bit. I couldn't tell if he was scared or just down right angry at me, but he didn't want to be near me, at all.

"The name's Nick…" A voice rang out, making look away and up, and I looked right up into a paw, it lightly tapping my nose. I look away quickly, grabbing my nose and standing up straight. When I looked back at Nick, he still had his arm through the fence, but was slightly smiling at my little action. I grabbed his paw and shook it, feeling the softness of his fur.

"And this here is Finnick, but I don't think that he wants to say anything at the moment." Nick says, patting Finnick on the head. He starts to swat at Nick's paws, but misses due to their height difference. I couldn't help but smile at this, because it reminded me of me and my siblings.

"You two brothers?" I ask them. Both stop what they are doing and just look at me, Finnick glaring and Nick seems like he is trying to think of an answer.

"No, we aren't. Just friends, but very close ones at that." Finnick says, crossing his arms. Once again, I am taken aback by how deep his voice is. It just doesn't seem right for a fox as small as him to have that deep of a voice.

"Well, by the looks of i-", I stop midway through, covering my mouth and blushing slightly. My voice had just cracked, in front of two people I don't know. Nick laughs a little and Finnick just smiles, seemingly relieved that I had just made an embarrassment out of myself. I uncover my mouth, and say, "Sorry about that, I'm just sensitive when it comes to my voice. It cracks more often than a side walk sitting In the hot sun." More laughter is heard, making me smile.

"What were you guys talking about?" I ask them, taking a seat on the ground. Both look at me, then at each other, and Nick shrugs. Soon, both are sitting on the ground with me, but on opposite sides of the fence.

"This great new idea I have that will bring us money." Nick says. Finnick just mumbles something under his breath, and, by the way Nick was glaring at him, he had heard it.

"What is this 'idea'?" I ask him. Nick just kept glaring at Finnick, so he decided to speak up.

"He wants to start selling popsicles. I told him that this isn't a good idea because a 12 year old and a 13 year old can't open up a shop and just start doing that." He says, finally looking at Nick.

"I think it's a great idea." I say out loud. Both look at me, Nick surprised that I agreed with him and Finnick… Well, he was just staring at me. "But you have to have a catchy name to catch the people's attention." I put my hand on my chin, lightly tapping it. Finnick looked down and started to play with some dirt, while Nick waited patiently for me to finish my train of thought.

I snapped my fingers, startling Finnick and grabbing his attention, informing of the idea I had just come up with, "Pawpsicles!" Nick starts to think, and, once again, Finnick just looks at me weirdly. I can't tell what he is thinking. Nick looks at me and then smiles.

"I like it. But how would that bring in more money?" I look at him, and, while it will bring in some cash, it won't bring in what both want. Once again, I am thrown into a deep thought.

"They have lemmings over there?" I ask them. Both look at each other weirdly.

"What are you getting at?" Finnick asks. I pull out an older book, before the animals had even started to evolve, and flipped to a page on lemmings.

"Back before you guys evolved, lemmings were known to follow each other around, which is why when one would jump off a cliff, others would follow. If you find a lemming area…" I start.

"Then they would follow each other right to us, bringing in more cash!" Finnick finishes for me, finally warming up to both me and the idea. Nick smiles and seems like he could do a 400-yard dash and still not be out of breath.

"Thanks Noah, you're the best!" Nick half yells, seemingly excited from the new information.

"There is another way to bring in more money…" I start. Both look at me, smiling and waiting for more information. I put the book away, and look back them, or, more importantly, Finnick.

"You need to have something cute…" I say, smiling evilly. Both don't know what to say, so they just stare right back at me, puzzled and confused. I sigh, trying to gather the words that I wanted to say. "When something cute is involved, people usually spend more money. My younger sisters do it all the time when they sell lemonade every year. All you have to do is find something cute and put it on Finnick there." I tell them. Finnick looks at me, seemingly angry, and Nick just smiles.

"And how would that work…?" He asks, looking at both me and Finnick.

"He's smaller than you, call him your younger brother." I tell Nick. He smiles, looking down at him. "And I have the perfect thing for him to wear, if you come back here tomorrow." I pipe up. Nick looks back up at me, still smiling.

"It's a deal!" He puts his paw back through the fence, and I shake it, smiling like the biggest idiot that ever was.

* * *

The next day came, and I grabbed the thing that I was telling Nick Finnick should wear: An old elephant costume. It was one of my sisters when they were 2, since they loved being an elephant. Stuffing it into my backpack, I walk out of the attic and to the bus stop to get picked up for the day's events.

Once there, I saw the neighborhood bully: Joseph. He thought it was cool to pick on people half his size, even though most of the kids he picked on could easily beat him up. He was picking a nerdy kid today, though. Me being a little taller than Joseph, I didn't get picked all the time, like most kids. But, today just wasn't my day because, when I walked into his line of sight, he dropped the person he was bullying at first and came walking in my direction. I paid him little attention, just playing on my phone. He didn't stop walking here though.

"Hey there, fatty." He says, a hint of venom behind his voice. I roll my eyes at the nickname he had given me.

"I ain't fat, Joseph. Now, please, leave me alone." I never even looked at him once, and he just shoved me down to the ground, the goons around laughing slightly at my misfortune. I stared back up into his eyes, his unforgiving eyes, and just laid there, while his goons were going through my backpack. They threw everything to the ground: including the elephant costume.

"Aw, what is this?" Joseph asked me. I just stared at him, not answering, and giving him the death glare. "What are you doing to do with this?" They all started to laugh, and I had enough of it. Using all of the energy and strength in me, I kicked Joseph in the face. He stumbled a bit, then looks down at me.

"Hold him up boys…" Each one grabs me, holding me into place. Joseph walks up to me slowly, and then does the unthinkable: punches me straight in the face.

* * *

School finally ended, and everyone was running around, including me. I wanted to get as far away as possible from that… that hell hole, but, more importantly, to Nick. I ran for the whole 15 miles from the school to the place that I had found him the day before, and sure enough, there they were.

"Noah, how's it going?" Nick asked, smiling. When he saw my face, though, he stopped and just stared at my new black eye.

"Woah… What happened?" Finnick asked. I look down at him, contemplating if I should tell these complete strangers what had actually happened, they might find as a weakling.

"Fell and hit the side of the sink with my eye…" Is the only thing that I said. Nick doesn't seem convinced, but lets it go. Before anyone else can say anything, I reach into my backpack and pull out the costume.

"Really? Elephant?" Finnick asks. I smile at him, knowing that he might be the one to hate it.

"I think it would look cute on you." I tell him, laughing a little. I hear Nick start to join in, with Finnick glaring at the both of us.

"Just give it here, let me go try it on." He says, reaching for the costume. I hand it to him, and he walks off, into the bushes to just… slip it on? Maybe he's nervous about this, but I don't know. I sit down for a minute, leaning against the fence with my back. Everything was fine, until I felt Nick's paw on my shoulder.

"What actually happened?" Nick asks me. I only shrug off his shoulders, not looking at him. After that, there is complete silence for a full 3 minutes. I was silently praying that Finnick would return soon, so Nick couldn't bother me with any more questions. Finally, something is done, something I didn't expect from him: He pulled me into a hug from the behind. I quickly look back at him, and see his solemn face looking right back at me.

"Tell me, or I won't let go." He 'threatened' me. I look at him, shaking my head no, not wanting to tell the truth just yet. Nick only shrugs and pulls me closer to him. And, of course, Finnick came walking out at that exact moment.

"You're luck- Am I intruding?" He asks us. I shake my head no, still not believing what this random fox was doing to me. He acted like he actually… cared…

"Our friend here won't tell us the truth behind his black eye." Nick says, not looking away from me for even a second. Finnick only shakes his head at the both of us, and comes over to sit next to Nick.

"I see that it fits." I say. He nods, looking down.

"Cute enough for ya?" I nod my head, getting a weird look from both of them. I smirk slightly, then look down at my watch. My eyes widen, seeing that I should've been home an hour ago. I quickly try to get up, but couldn't due to Nick's death grip around my stomach.

"Nick, let go. I need to head home…" I whisper yell, trying not to bring attention to us. He finally lets go, still looking at me weird. I walk away, and hear Nick ask me, "Same time tomorrow?"

"Yup, see you then!" I answer him, giving both a slight wave and running off into the distance.

* * *

That is how it went on for months, hell, for years. Me, Nick, and Finnick would all get together to talk about our lives, and we became the closest of friends, especially me and Nick. If people were to walk up to us, they would say that me and Nick were too close to be "just friends". Hell, Finnick even made fun of us because of it. But, he meant nothing by it, just trying to poke fun at us for being too close.

By the time that we were 15 (Nick was 14), I had started to notice that I was developing feelings for Nick. I knew it wouldn't work out, but I thought that, maybe, just maybe, I should tell him. So, after school and walking over to our usual meeting spot, I saw that it was just Nick today.

"Sup Nick, where's Finnick?" I ask. Nick just looks at me, smiling and eyes half lidded.

"Getting something for the Pawpsicles. It's just us for today." He answers, still giving me his 'sly' look, as I like to call it. I just shake my head, but it would be easier for me to do this without Finnick around.

Our time hanging out started as usual, us cracking jokes and having a great time all together. We laughed, shared stories of our past together (although, Nick doesn't know I was bullied growing up, don't know how he would react to that…), and even had the guts to play a little bit of Truth or Dare, just to speed up time.

"Ok, Noah… Truth or Dare?" Nick asks. I start to think for a moment, then think to myself, "YOLO".

"Dare." I say. Nick smiles, eyes half lidded and him just trying to be sly all around.

"I dare you to kiss me for a few seconds." My breath hitches, although I don't let it show. I know why he did this. He wanted to work me up and try to see if I would go through with it or not. 'Well, two can play this game, Mr. Wilde.' I thought to myself. Grabbing the sides of his head, I pull him towards me, making his muzzle go through the chain link fence, closer to mine and kiss him, straight on the lips. Nick is taken aback by this, but I hold him there, for a good 2 minutes before pulling away.

"I win, Wilde." I tell him, smiling like an idiot. He just blinks, staring right at me, not believing that I had just done that. When he finally comes through, he grabs my head and kisses me again, only, this time, it was me who was confused and taken aback by the kiss. Nick had his eyes closed, seemingly enjoying himself. I close my eyes as well, finally melting into the kiss. It went on for a good 5 minutes, before I pulled away for air.

"No, Mr. Cartige, I win, because I made you blush." He said, smirking. I look away quickly, then glance back at him. He smiles, making me smile back.

"Nick…?" He keeps on looking at me, smiling. "There was something…" I was cut off by the sound of a gun being cocked. I turn around quickly, finding a man with an old pistol in his hands, pointing it straight at Nick.

"Kid, get back! That thing… That thing will kill ya if you aren't careful." I was startled at first, then angered. Angry for being found, angry at this man for calling Nick a 'killing animal', even if he didn't say it out loud, and, especially this one, angry that he had a gun pointed at Nick's head.

Gathering all of my courage, I stand up and stare the guy right in the eyes. "Sir, I need you to put the gun down." I walk towards him, slowly, showing him that I meant no harm. He watched me intently, and then looked behind me, gun still raised, and he pulled the trigger. Adrenaline kicked in, and I jumped in the way. The sheer force of me jumping, though, made me stagger a bit when landing and run right into the fence, looking Nick right in the face.

"R-run…" I tell him. My conscious was starting to dwindle, and I saw Nick start to cry.

"Hang in there, Noah.. Please, for me…" He says, his voice cracking slightly. I smile a little, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm going nowhere…" I tell him, falling to my knees. The last thing I remember before falling into the darkness was Nick screaming my name, and an ambulance that was coming to my rescue.

* * *

 ***message start***

 **A/N: Hey guys, been a while, hasn't it?**

 **I know, this isn't the fanfiction you guys wanted updated, but this was swimming around in my head for about a month now, but I had no idea how to start it. I mean, I had a general idea, but it kept getting rewritten in my head. Curse of being a writer, I guess.**

 **Now, for the people who followed me because of** _ **Love is Love**_ **, it will be updated soon, promise. I just wanted to get this out before I went insane because I felt like this would be a great story.**

 **Like I said though, Love is Love will be updated soon, and this will have a second chapter, explaining in more detail what happened towards the end, especially the aftermath. (I know this chapter was long, but there was a lot of information I wanted to get out in this chapter, explaining why Nick and Noah would be like they are in the rest of the fic, and explain how they had met.)**

 **Thanks guys for sticking with me through thick and thin, and till the next chapter. See ya!**

 ***message end***


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Return

Noah POV

 **I do not own Zootopia, as much as it is to my dismay. I only own Noah Cartige, and the plot.**

The sound of an alarm bursts through my dream, making me fall out of my bed and knocking everything off of it. A lamp, the alarm clock, and my phone came down and hit me on the head, lightly of course. I get up slowly, rubbing my head, trying to dull the pain. I also grab the alarm clock and turn it off.

"Why do I have to get up…?" I ask myself, slowly getting up. I walk out to the kitchen, grabbing a coffee mug and starting up the coffee brewer. I lightly 'growl' at myself, but it sounds more like a dying chicken than anything else.

"Why do you take forever to warm up?" I ask the coffee maker, hoping to hear some kind of response. Nothing is said from the machine, big surprise, so I walk away. Looking at the clock that was hanging on my wall, I saw that it was just past noon. On my days off, I like to sleep in, makes me feel like I am still a kid still. Grabbing the remote, I plop onto the couch and turn on the tv.

"And in the latest news, Zootopians should expect in the increase of human activity inside of our fine city. More and more humans seem to flock here, either for jobs or for other small reasons." I watch on, not surprised at all. I mean, I was one of the first humans to move into Zootopia. "I don't know what to think anymore about these humans, but I think that they mean no harm, or they wouldn't have destroyed that wall a few years back." I changed the channel right after that, not really caring about anything else that was happening in the world at this current moment.

Hearing the coffee maker go off, I got up and walked right back to the kitchen. I look straight at it, seeing the once glossy finish start to peel off and parts of it were tapped right back on, due to budget reasons. I poured myself a cup of coffee and start to down it.

"Why do I even try anymore…?" I ask myself, looking at the cup. "Caffeine just makes me even more tired…" I put the cup into the sink, and was about to pour the coffee away when I heard a knock on the door. Groaning lightly to myself, I walk towards it, putting the coffee pot down.

"Who is it?" I ask through the door, trying to mask my tiredness. I could hear whispering outside, so I thought it was just some kind of bunny scouts making the yearly trip, selling cookies. (I usually buy around 6 or 7 boxes. I still have a few sitting in the cupboard somewhere.)

I unlock the door and swing it open, expecting to see a few young bunnies in my doorway. What I wasn't expecting to see were two police officers, standing there. One was a bunny, so I was sorta correct, but the other was a fox, who looked strikingly familiar.

"Woah, hold up. I had until Friday to pay my rent! Mary promised me! Look just give me…" I was cut off by a hand being held up by the fox, who was wearing sunglasses… indoors. The bunny looks at me, just kind of weirded out by what I said.

"That isn't why we are here. We got a call from one of your neighbors that you were causing a ruckus. Is this true?" The fox asks me. I look at him weird for a minute, then realization hits me. I grit my teeth, holding back some words that I would have to say to these "neighbors".

"No officers, that is not true. I just got up around…" I look at my watch, seeing it was almost 12:45. "45 minutes ago." They look at each other. I sigh. "It was a prank call. The people across the hall have twins, that so happen to be boys and are both teenagers. They are always calling the cops on me. The little…" I stop myself, calming down and looking at them.

"Uh… Would you officers like to come in? I could explain it a bit better if we were in here. They could be listening, and then use whatever I say against me…" I ask them, ranting for a minute.

"We could, if that is ok with you." The bunny says. I nod my head, moving to the side. Both come walking in. The fox takes off his sunglasses while the bunny is taking everything in with her lavender eyes. I close the door, looking around at the slight mess.

"You guys want coffee? I just made some." I ask them, slipping on my slippers. Both shake their heads at me. I notice them taking in the small apartment that I have. There is stuff laying everywhere, making me feel embarrassed.

"Sorry about the mess. Like I said, I just got up a while ago, and I have had no time to clean, what so ever." I tell them, pouring the coffee down the drain and putting the pot into the dishwasher. "Take a seat on the couch, I will be in there in a second." I grab the glasses from a small pouch and put them on. "Always forget to do that…" I say to myself. I walk into the living room, seeing that the tv was still on, and on some Spanish channel. I grabbed the remote and turn it off.

"I'm guessing that you guys have questions, so shoot." I tell them, sitting down in a small chair that I had against a far wall.

"Yes, you said that we were prank called, or whatever…?" The bunny asks. I nod my head.

"Yes, officer…?" I start, realizing that I didn't know the name of either officer. Neither one gets my hint, so I just stare back at them. Finally, the bunny catches on, and mouths 'oh' to no one, but I understand that what I was trying to get from them was starting to dawn on her.

"Officer Judy Hopps," The rabbit, as I now know as Judy, put her hand out, trying to get a small hand shake. I grab her hand, lightly of course, since her hand is smaller than mine, and shake it slightly. I smile at her, and she smiles right back.

 _'Bubbly attitude, got to remember that about Miss Hopps here…'_ I tell myself, not saying it out loud. I look over at the fox, expecting an answer from him as well, but he doesn't say a thing. _'And an antisocial fox. Your luck has struck again, Noah…'_

"Well…" I say, seeing as the fox won't speak up, trying to break the small silence that had ensued. "My name is Noah Cartige. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." I say, standing up. I see that the fox's ears had perked up, and that he was looking at me with quite the interest. "You guys want anything while I am in here?" I ask, walking into the kitchen.

* * *

 **Third Person's POV. (Wanted to do this, gives a little bit of input on both Hopps' and Wilde's side of things.)**

Judy Hopps knew when something was up with her partner, and right after Noah had introduced himself, Nick Wilde had perked up, seemingly interested in Noah. She also saw that he was showing emotion. It was a small amount, but it was there. He usually only ever did that with her, and never in public, so it came as a surprise to her when Nick started to show some kind of emotion. It came to an even bigger shock to her when Nick had jumped up, and started to walk slowly to the kitchen, with her following shortly after.

"I have Pawpsi, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper… Milk, uhh…" She wandered in through the other side, with her getting a good view of both Nick and Noah. Nick was standing behind the fridge door, looking down at Noah, who was going through his contents inside said fridge. "Sorry about the small amounts of food, though. I haven't been able to make a food run in a few weeks…" Judy felt sorry for the human, seeing as he was in worse conditions than she was. He had little to no food, (from what she could guess) a small amount of money, and the threat of being thrown out, due to the money problem.

"It's no big deal, really. It looks like you need the food more than we do." She says, looking the human up and down. Noah was skinny, not looking like the average human being. You could see his ribs slightly, and he looked underweight.

"It's not a big deal. Always trying to look out for our officers." Noah closes the door to the fridge, and sees that Nick is standing behind it. Noah had jumped, seemingly not expecting Nick to be there, which made the fox in question smirk slightly at Noah. Judy giggled from that, seeing that there was some kind of tension in the air between the two of them.

"Sorry about that, officer. I wasn't expecting you to be there." Noah grabbed at his chest, seemingly trying to slow down his heart rate. Nick looked at Noah, taking a step towards him. Both were nervous, and both were scared. Noah was scared that he had done something wrong, that he had somehow broken the law. Nick was scared that he was mistaking this human for _his_ human, _his_ Noah Cartige.

"Nick, what are you doing?" Judy asked, stopping the both of them. Noah looked into Nick's green eyes, finally realizing who the fox that was standing before him was. All three stood in the kitchen for a good ten minutes, no one moving, no one saying a thing. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Noah put his arms out and hugged the startled fox.

Both Nick and Judy were taken aback at Noah's actions. Due to both Noah and Nick being about the same height, Noah was able to rest his head on Nick's shoulders, tears threatening to come spilling out of his eyes. Nick slowly started to hug him back, still unsure on what was happening, but the hug felt right.

"Tell me… Nick… Did you have a small friend, who was human, and the two of you sat at the fence, talking away about everything…?" Noah finally said, never breaking the hug or looking Nick straight in the eyes. Nick smiles slightly, fully hugging the human back.

"Yes, I did. Why, do you know where to find him?" He asks, teasingly, feeling tears of his own threatening to come out as well. Noah laughs lightly, hugging Nick a little tighter. For a moment, both were happy, both were the small children that had talked, played, and even did jokes with. For a moment, they were themselves once again, and both were ok with that.

After a few minutes, Nick pulls away from the hug, and looks Noah right into the eyes. Nothing was said between the two, both knowing fully well who the other person was. The only thing that was being thought by Nick Wilde was, _'He looks good in glasses.'_

"What the heck is happening?!" Judy asks, breaking both the silence and their little moment. For the first time since they had gotten into the kitchen, Nick Wilde had looked at Judy Hopps, a smile on his face, and tears still running down his cheeks. Noah looked back as well, realizing that she was there as well.

"Judy, I want you to meet an old friend of mine…" Nick says, looking over at Noah and smiling even bigger than before.

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the later update, and sorry for not updating my other fic, but I promise the next chapter will be coming out soon.**

 **As you can see here, there was a touching moment between both Nick and Noah, with Judy there for the ride. I wanted this chapter to be where both of them meet again, after so many years, and the next chapter is where both explain to Judy what happened in their pasts, and they tell each other what happened after they had stopped talking. I have a lot planned for this fic, so stay tuned.**

 **I personally felt like this chapter was a bit rushed, but, however hard I try, I just can't get that to stop. So, I just kind of go with it, explaining things as best as I can do. I also hope that this chapter wasn't too long, because there was a lot that needed to happen, leading up to the part where they meet, with some fill ins, just to give you an idea of what Noah looks like right now and the conditions that he is in. (I do feel like that this chapter was a bit better than the first one, though!)**

 **So, the final question is: What happens next? Will both Nick and Noah fall in love with each other again, or will they move on? Well, you need to read the fic to find out, because, guess what?**

 **A writer never gives away the secrets.**

 **FightingF0RW0lves out, peace!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, how are ya? Good? Good.**

 **Now, before we dive into the chapter, I wanted to take this time to read a few comments that were left by some people. So, without further ado, let's jump right into this shit.**

 _Shouldn't he be taller than Nick, but when kneeling the same height, unless humans there are the same height of monkeys or chimpanzees. Other than that nice fic, I prafer seeing Nick with anyone else than him and Judy being together._

 _-AlbineFox_

 **First off, thanks for saying that this was a good fic! Means a lot to me knowing that some people gained an interest in this fic! To answer your question, though, I thought that I would make foxes and humans the same height. Why I did this? Well, in the movie, it looked like Nick was about the size of a human that was in the five to six foot range, with the wolves being basketball star heights, and ect. There was no other reason behind this besides the fact that Nick SEEMED to be that tall. Now, I have no idea that this is correct, either by not doing my homework or by the creators having something different in mind. Whatever it may be, I saw this, and I may not be the first.**

 **To add on to what Albine has said: Would you guys want Noah and Nick to get together? I know, in the first chapter, I said that they had developed some feelings, but, you have to remember that it has been roughly 6 to 7 years since they last saw each other, so everything went out the window. From what I could tell, Albine, is that you are ok with Nick getting together with anyone as long as it wasn't Judy. If I am wrong, please correct me.**

 **Next comment, please.**

 _Trashfic_

 _-SomeGuyWhoWritesBetterThanYou_

 **Now, I knew going into this that I would receive some kind of backlast, knowing that it isn't written well, it isn't what the public wants to see, but, guess what? I like writing these kind of stories, where this kind of stuff happens. If this story isn't your kind of thing, then you have the ability to NOT click on it. It's that simple. I don't mean to sound like a douchebag, but writing one comment like this isn't going to stop me from writing.**

 **Besides, saying that I have a "trashfic" when yours aren't all that better? That's right, I read a few of your stories. And, they aren't the best, and need some work. So, until you can clean up your own act, you don't have the right to go around and write comments like this.**

 **Anyway, let's just get into the story, and sorry again for ranting, had that on my mind for awhile.**

The Return

Chapter 3

Noah's POV

I always had this dream up until now. What was this dream about? Well, it was about me and Nick being reunited again, and us starting off where it stopped. And here we were, me and Nick, and Ms. Hopps over there, of course, together again. To say that it was kind of emotional would be an understatement. I was crying, Nick was slightly tearing up, and Judy looked like she was downright confused. Of course she would be, she must be lost out of her mind.

After a few minutes of me and Nick hugging, and the shock finally starting to wear off, I walked back into the living room, with Nick practically right behind me and his partner not far behind.

"Ms. Hopps, you are probably lost beyond belief, which is completely ok! I know I would be if I were in your shoes. So, how about me and Nick just explain from the beginning…" And that is how we started, telling Judy all about our past together, her taking it in like she was some wet blanket, trying to soak everything in at once. After we finished our life's tail, she was lost in thought for a good few minutes, before finally talking about what was on her mind.

"So, you two have been friends for years, and very close friends at that. But why? Why would you guys stick around, knowing that you could get in trouble for doing that?" She asked us. Nick and I looked at each other, knowing this answer like the back of our hands.

"Because we didn't care." We answered together, startling Ms. Hopps a bit, and maybe even unnerving her.

"And the only reason Nick didn't ever talk about you was because he thought that you were dead?" She asks. This takes me by surprise, and I looked to Nick for a response. His ears went flat against his head, and he started to nod, slowly.

"I guess so…" I answer, still looking at Nick.

"And have you seen Finnick yet?" She asks. I shake my head no, finally looking back at her. She only shakes her head slightly, before looking in my direction again.

"Although, Finnick will know eventually that I am alive because Nick here will tell him." I say, nudging the fox next to me lightly. "The both of them are pretty close, and told everything to each other, except a few things."

"And you two were pretty close? Closer than me and Nick now?" She asks. Me and Nick look at each other, then back at her.

"In a sense, yes. It was for a long while, so what did you expect us to become, boyfriend and boyfriend?" I become nervous, knowing what had happened between us. We hadn't told Judy that, because I think that he only kissed me because of the heat of the moment. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, even if he did swing that way, he never told me or showed interest in me, and he probably wouldn't tell anyone, not even his closest friends.

"No, not that. I just had a feeling that maybe you two were a little too close." She answers, raising an eyebrow at us. I just shrug it off, smiling lightly.

But, that smile was completely wiped off of my face when I heard a knock on the door, and a cheerful voice, a little too cheerful of a voice, talk through the wooden door.

"Payment of rent for the month! Open the door or my officers will have to do so, forcefully."

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

All eyes were on the door, everyone anticipating what was about to happen. Noah had gotten up, slowly and walked towards the door, with Nick in tow. Judy stayed behind, thinking nothing of it. She thought that it was normal that the landlord would come and pick up payments with offi-

Her thoughts were stopped at that. _Why_ would this landlord need officers just for some money. She quickly got up, and ran towards the door. Noah hadn't opened it yet, trying to regain his thoughts.

"You… You guys can go sit down… I'll be fine… Promise…" He paused between sentences, as if he wasn't even sure with himself about what he was saying. Neither moved, glued to their spots on the floor. Noah slowly but surely opened the door and standing there was an older cheetah with bags under her eyes and a flower dress. She had two officers standing behind her, which both were wolves. And both looked like they had better things to do than stand there, just to look intimidating.

"I hope that you have the payment ready." The cheetah says. Noah doesn't say a thing, but walks away from the door into an unknown part of the apartment.

"Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, what are you doing here?" one of the wolves asked. Both Nick and Judy looked at each other, having never seen these wolves before, but yet they knew about them. Sure, they were famous, but they never thought that they were this famous.

"Noise disturbance complaint. Turned out to be a false alarm." Nick answered, crossing his arms slightly.

"Shouldn't you two be on your way then?"

Neither one got to answer as Noah came walking back in with a few stacks of hundred dollar bills. Both officers in the apartment dropped their jaws slightly, but they withheld themselves from saying anything.

"I only have five hundred. This should be enough for a few weeks, right?" Noah asked, his face devoid of emotion, as well as his voice. The cheetah slowly counted the money, as if she didn't believe him, and then started to smile wickedly.

"The amount was two grand. Where is the rest of it?" And, for the first time in this whole conversation did Noah show some kind of emotion: fear and confusion.

"I thought it was a grand…" He says, not making eye contact.

"Well, I just decided to raise the price. And, since you don't have the money, I can finally kick your sorry ass out!" And that was when Nick had enough, walking up to the door, and got right into the cheetah's face, as best he could at least.

"And when did you decide to just up the price for this young man?" He asks, trying his best not to show anger.

"Just now. I have that right, don't i?" She smiled innocently, looking down at Nick. He glared right back up at her, waiting for the correct answer.

"She has that right." It wasn't the cheetah who talked, but was one of the officers. "She took the human to court because he didn't pay his rent."

"I paid for it! She just lied to the court of law just to get her way! And all because I am human…" Noah pipes up. Nick took his friend's word, looking the cheetah in the eye.

"I'll pay for the rest." This surprised the cheetah that she didn't even respond to the fox, but just put her hand out slowly and waited for the cash to be put into her hand. Nick did so, surprisingly carrying around a few grand's worth of cash in his wallet. The cheetah smiled and started to walk away, with the officers following suit. Nick walked in the apartment, closing the door behind him, still showing the same face, until the door was closed. Once he closed it, he showed pure rage, and looked right at Noah.

"Now you listen here, Noah. I am moving in tonight, no buts about it, and nothing you can say will stop me, Carrots." Noah and Judy are taken aback by this.

"Why Nick? I am fine, really." Nick doesn't answer, but opened up the door again. Judy walked out first, then Nick. He stopped and turned to look at Noah.

"You are not fine, Noah. These people around you are picking on you, and I need to protect you. Besides, you need help with around the house and with your body weight." Noah sighs, nodding slightly and getting the picture. "I will see you tonight then, Noah." And with that, Nick walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

The Return

Chapter 4

 **Third Person POV**

 **I don't own Zootopia, sadly. I only own Noah and this plot.**

The ride back to the Precinct was quiet for Nick and Judy. Judy was still in shock that her best friend would do that in front of other officers. They were supposed to be on their best behavior when out on a case. Yet, he had lost it and showed his anger to innocents and other officers. She had wanted to talk about it when they got back into the car, but he just shrugged it off, saying, "I don't want to talk about it."

That was the last thing that he said to the bunny. He was just staring out the window, with a look of rage still engraved on his face. The bunny knew not to evoke him when he was like this, due to the fact that he had a liking to yell a lot when angry. So, not wanting to be yelled at, she kept on driving, keeping her eyes forward.

And that is how it was for the rest of the day, as well. Nick did his work in silence, checked his phone a few times, and didn't say a word to his partner. He even stepped out of the room to make a few calls before the day was over. It did make her wonder, but she didn't say a thing, knowing to give Nick some space when he needed it.

"Have a good night, Hopps." Nick had said, no emotion evident in his voice. She stopped walking, knowing that when he called her by her last name that he didn't want to walk home with her. She also knew that Nick was probably going home to pack up and go to Noah's apartment.

"Uh, you too… Nick." She answered back, watching as he walked out the door, her following soon after him.

Nick had walked a few blocks, then made a right, going in a different direction than to his place. No, he was going to see someone he hasn't talked to since he became a police officer: Finnick. They had been calling and texting all day, finding a place to meet up and talk about "things". Finnick doesn't know that Noah is still alive, due to Nick not telling him. No, he thought that it would be better to tell his old friend about their human friend in person, and tell him his living conditions.

After about 15 minutes of walking, Nick walked up to their meeting spot: A park five blocks away from Noah's apartment, but only three minutes away from Nick's. As he walked up, he saw Finnick's van, parked in a very jagged line, but somehow still in the parking space. He shook his head, smirking a little, walking up to said van.

He reached the van, knocking on the back doors a few times, waiting for the doors to open. Rustling was heard inside, as well as a low voice, which was cursing to itself under its breath. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Nick, the doors opened and Finnick was seen standing there, with no shirt on.

"What's up Nick? When you said that we needed to talk, I thought that you needed counseling with Noah's death." Nick flinched lightly at that, remembering when he thought that Noah had actually died and needed help trying to contain his emotions. Nick shook his head, looking inside.

"Where do you want to talk, Fin?" He asked, using his nickname that he had created not too long after Noah's disappearance. Finnick sighed, moving to the side and letting Nick crawl into his van.

"OK, what is actually up?" Nick didn't know how to tell his friend this, so he just started from the beginning, telling him everything about the day's events. Finnick, at first, denied the fact that Noah was alive, but Nick persisted that it was true. As he explained, Finnick came to the realization that the fox in front of him was indeed not lying. This made him unnerved that, somehow, Noah had survived, but ecstatic that he was. And so, until the sun had started to set, they had talked. Finnick asking questions, and Nick explaining his answers, as well as explaining how their friend was living.

"I told him I was coming to live with him for awhile." Nick looked to the van's clock, seeing it was just after nine. "Could you give me a drive to my place? I have to pack some stuff up." Finnick nodded his head, putting a shirt on and hopping into the front seat. Nick jumped into the passenger seat. Not too long after that did the van roar to life, and Finnick threw the van into reverse, then drive, driving straight out of the park.

Neither said a thing as they drove to Nick's apartment, which was a small step up from the bridge. Finnick stole glances at Nick, who seemed to be in deep thought about something or other.

"I know the true reason for you staying with him." Finnick said, breaking Nick's thoughts. The taller fox looked to the fennec fox, a raised eyebrow at him, but not saying a word. "I remember, two months after we both thought that Noah died, you told me that you had fallen in love with him." Nick's ears slightly drooped, as well as his tail. "At first, I didn't believe you, but the look of hurt in your eyes and the way you acted around Noah told me otherwise. So, being the good friend that I am, I tried to fill his place, to try and cheer you up." Finnick smiled slightly, then continued. "The true reason that you are staying with him is that you're scared on losing him again, knowing that he is still kicking and breathing, and within arm's reach." When they reached a red light, Finnick looked into his best friend's eyes. "I know, deep down, you still love him, and this is your way of making sure that he stays in your life, except, this time, in a different way." The taller fox became surprised, but looked forward.

"It's green.." Finnick looked ahead, pushing on the gas slightly. The smaller fox heard Nick sigh, and looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "And, maybe you are right. Maybe I do still love him, in that way, and I'm just scared on losing him." Nick's eyes became glazed over, him lost in thought once again.

They finally reached their first destination, with Nick hopping out and Finnick parking his van. The smaller fox was able to reach Nick's apartment, just in time for him to see Nick's door open and to hear drawers being opened and then slammed shut. He ran inside, closing the door behind him.

Nick's apartment was small, but just bigger than Judy's, who refused to move out of the rinky dink apartment. It had two bedrooms and a bathroom. Nick used neither bedroom, and just slept on the couch, not being able to afford a bed at the time of moving in and refused to go buy one. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were all connected, and in both the kitchen and living room were flat screen tvs. He didn't have cable, but he did have a few gaming consoles for his days off.

"Just about everything that I need." Nick muttered to himself, grabbing a few more pairs of clothes. Finnick grabbed what he could and took it down to the van, placing them gently in the back. After a few more minutes, Nick came running down the stairs, looking into his bags the whole way, making sure he grabbed everything that he needed. He didn't need any gaming stuff, since he thought that Noah would surely have a few consoles just lying around somewhere.

Both foxes jumped into the front seat and started to drive the way to Noah's apartment building. Once again, the van was silent the whole way there, both lost in thought about the night that was about to be happening. Clouds started to roll in, making it look like it was about to rain. And, when they pulled up to the apartment, it started to pour, thunder heard in the distance and lightning seen streaking across the inky black sky. Both foxes had to run to the back of the van, after Finnick had parked, and grabbed almost everything. As quickly as they could, with two big duffle bags full of clothes and a few smaller bags, both ran into the building and up the staircase. Luckily, Noah lived on the third floor, so they didn't have to run up a lot of stairs before reaching their destination.

As they walked out of the staircase and into the hallway, they saw that the lights weren't powered fully, giving everything an eerie look. Nick walked before Finnick, since the smaller fox had no idea where he was going. And, to make matters worse, some of the rooms had yelling coming out of them, especially the one right across from Noah's room.

When they reached the door, Nick knocked three times, stood back and waited for it to open.

"How much as Noah changed since we last saw him?" Finnick had asked, looking over to Nick.

"Enough to notice it…" Was the reply. Finnick couldn't question him further, hearing the door in front of them unlock. When it was beginning to open, Finnick had expected there to be a perfectly healthy human being. Instead, when the door was fully open, standing before the foxes was a human who looked extremely tired, his glasses on sideways, and he had no shirt on, showing his underweight body. Both foxes could easily see the ribcage on the human, but it wasn't bad enough where it looked like he hadn't eaten in a few weeks. Realization hit the human, looking between the foxes.

"Nick, you were completely serious about this…?" The human asked. Nick just nodded, looking behind him into the dark apartment. "And you brought…" Noah, who Finnick had guessed this was supposed to be, squinted his eyes at the smaller fox. "Finnick..?" He smiled, as the human hadn't forgotten about him at all.

"Hey, Noah, long time, no see, huh?"

 **A/N: Hey guys, so I wanted to say that, yes, by the sounds of the last chapter, Nick was going to move in and this chapter was going to explain the events of that. Well, I decided that that would be better for the next chapter, making this chapter reintroduce Finnick into it. I also wanted to explain some things about Nick and Noah's past, but just left it at this, due to some time constraints. This chapter, in my eyes, was decent, but all writers think that their work is bad. It is up for the readers to come up with that conclusion. So, what did you guys think of this chapter? Too rushed, or too little information?**

 **Welp, since the last chapter and of me writing this chapter, I have gotten on new review. Let's take a look at that, shall we?**

 _Next chapter should be interesting if Nick spends nightat Noah's :)_

 **May I ask what is going through your mind? Do you think that these two will just hit it off, just like that? Maybe in other fanfictions, but not this one.**

 **Ya see, if it wasn't clear in the last chapter (or if I even said this at all), Noah is having a problem deciding if he still likes Nick, and vise versa. He thinks that Nick only did what he did because of the heat of the moment. Yes, there is going to be some fluff in the next chapter, but it isn't going to be where the both of them get together right away. As I said, Noah is having conflicted feelings on the matter, and even Nick, as stated in this chapter, isn't sure if he still likes Noah. So, no, they won't be getting together. I still haven't decided if they will be in the first place, that's why I am leaving it up to you guys to help me decide. So, just leave comments on this, or check my fanfic page, because I might set up a poll (Don't get your hopes up, IDK how to do that…)**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and please leave reviews, favorite this story, and maybe even favorite, just because.**

 **FightF0rW0lves out, peace!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 6

The Return

Noah's POV

When I had let both foxes inside, I didn't expect Finnick to start judging my living standards. He droned on and on about how I could find a new place to live, one where the "paint would stop peeling" or the "ceiling would stop leaking". Understandably, he wants what is best for me, but this is coming from the fox who was very stingy about money when we were kids. Even Nick had added his two sense into this, and, once again, he is the person to talk. So, not wanting to hear anymore shit that these two had to say, I held up my hand, singling for them to stop.

"I don't want to hear it. Yes, I could move, but will I? No, I won't. So, please, just drop it." I say, raising my voice slightly half way through the sentence. Both look at me weird, but all I do is start to walk back into my bedroom. "Since I didn't think that Nick was going through with this, I didn't have enough time to try and set up sleeping arrangements…" Neither say a thing, which gets me worried. Or, at least, to me.

I could hear both of them talking to each other, but neither wanted to say it out loud for me to hear, at least as I could tell. Then, after a few minutes, it stopped, and I heard my TV turn on, it on its normal settings and, yet, I couldn't hear it over the yelling neighbors.

I walked back out of my room, pillows and blankets in my hands, and I started to walk back into the living room. As I did, I was wondering why Finnick and Nick were actually here. Nick wanted to stay with me, and Finnick was a tag along, I think. Still doesn't explain the fact that I had just met these two this morning after so many years of them thinking I was dead. I was so lost in thought that I hadn't noticed that I was in my living room, walking towards the front door, blank expression on my face.

"Noah," I hear Nick start, breaking me of my thoughts. I took in my surroundings, blushing lightly from being slightly embarrassed, and I walked back towards them. Both shot a questioning look to each other, and I couldn't blame them for being this way. They were just as confused as I was about this whole situation. And, to make matters worse, there was an awkward feeling in the air, as if you could cut straight through it with a knife. Handing the blankets and pillows to the both of them, I sat down next to Nick and looked at the TV. Once again, none of us had said a thing to the other, making things even more weird.

"So…." I start, looking at the two of them. Nick kept staring at the TV while Finnick looked my way. "Since Nick is a police officer, what do you do for a living, Finnick?" He looks back at the TV, wearing an unreadable face. He seemed to ponder on what to say next, but had no idea what to say. We sat like that, in silence, as I waited on Finnick to answer. Even Nick seemed kind of curious, as if they hadn't talked in forever.

"I have been doing what me and Nick did before he became a police officer: Con people." He didn't seem like he was too happy about that, but I didn't question it any further. If anything, I was trying to take it in, knowing that these two were actually with me.

"That's cool, I guess…" I mumble, trying to make sure that neither of them had heard me in the slightest. Of course, I forgot that they had better hearing them me, but, if either of them had heard me, they refused to show it in the slightest. No, both of them had stayed facing foreword, as if nothing happened. Once again, it was like that, and I couldn't take that.

"If you guys have any questions for me, you can ask…" I inform them. Again, neither of them want to speak up, but, from the looks of it, they did have some questions running through their minds. Unlike the other times, we sat in silence for two minutes before Nick spoke up.

"What have you been up to?" He asked, looking my way. Finnick did the same, seemingly interested in the question that Nick had asked me. I only looked back at them, not knowing what to say or do.

"Where do I start…?" I ask, rubbing the back of my neck with my left hand, my right sitting on the couch, playing with one of the cushions. I felt something grab it, something furry and warm. Looking down, I see that Nick had placed his hand on top of mine. I looked up at him, slightly blushing. Luckily, I don't think that Nick could see it, but his face was showing understanding and concern for me.

"Start from the beginning…." He says, not letting go of my hand. I smile a little, and he smiles back, the whole time I am questioning these feelings that I am having about Nick.

"Well… ok… It all started the month that I was released from the hospital...

"I had been stuck in one room for almost 2 years, getting my education and allowed on small walks after one year, but they kept me around for that extra year to just make sure that I was ok, so that means they were always doing something on me, and this included testing.

"The testing.

"It sucked.

"For months, I had been subjected so much testing that my own blood was starting to become a different color. (That of course isn't true… Over exaggerating…)

"Anyway, after months of it, I was finally released to the real world, and I was so excited to finally see my old friends at the fence. By the time that I had reached my house, I had heard word that the wall and the fence were going to be torn down, and I wanted nothing more than to hand out with my friends like normal people.

"So, at the end of the school day, I had rushed to the meeting place, to see if you guys were there, waiting for me, but you weren't. So, I came back the next day, and the next… and the next.

"This went on for months to almost a year, and you guys didn't show. So, seeing that you guys weren't going to come back, I had stopped coming as well. I moved on…

"With that said, I had gained enough money from a small job that I had earned, I had decided that maybe it was time to move out on my own. So, after graduation, I packed my things, and moved on out.

"At first, I wanted to move into a small apartment on the human side of things, but that didn't happen. I was stuck living in my car for a few days until I had found this apartment. Really, that is it."

I look around the room, seeing that both of them were a little confused at my explanation.

"Sorry, I'm not good with explanations…" I say sheepishly. Neither of them seem like they're buying my story, and why should they? The whole thing was a big lie, except the whole 'waiting for them to return' part. Quickly, I look down at my wrist watch, noticing the time and jumping up, startling them both.

"Well, it's getting late, and we should really be going to bed. Goodnight, and see you two in the morning." I say, walking to the hallway. "Blankets are on the coffee table…" I ran down the hall slightly. Once at my door, I opened it and slammed it shut, sliding down the it till I was one the floor. I heard mumbling, but I didn't care, for, I was in my room, and nothing could hurt me in here…

* * *

Both foxes had looked at the hallway, then at each other, both of them wearing the same faces: one where they know that they have been lied to.

"Did you buy that, Nick?" Finnick asked. Nick shook his head no.

"What are we going to do about it, though, Finnick? We can't ask him; he will deny it." Nick answers. And he did have a point, because nothing was going to make Noah admit that he had lied to the foxes. "Now come on, let's get these couches into beds for the night."

 **A/N: Hey guys, how has it been?**

 **Look, this chapter was a bit rushed, I will admit, but, after rewriting it 3 times, I was starting to run out of ideas for this chapter, so I just kind of did a montage of all the ideas together in one chapter. Maybe it turned out alright for you guys, but I feel like it could be better, so I apologize for that, really I do.**

 **Well, let's just read some of the reviews before I go.**

 _Why am I up at 6:40 in the morning reading zootopia fanfics?_

 _-guest_

 **Very good question…**

 **That I don't have the answer to. Sorry.**

 _I like this fanfiction it is very different keep up the good work but I with the chapter were a bit longer and I believe that Nick and Noah shouldn't be rushed I believe that it should take time._

 _-Russell S 1718_

 **Thanks for enjoying the story, and thanks for agreeing with me on the subject that Nick and Noah shouldn't be rushed at all. But, not to seem like a jackass, your grammar is very hard to read and stuff. I understand that English might not be your first language, but it's hard for me to read it because I am kind of a grammar nazi, so please, don't sue me!**

 **Welp, it's time for me to sleep. Once again, I am sorry if this chapter wasn't as good or what you guys thought it was going to be, but I hit a writer's block on this chapter alone, hopefully, and went with the first thing that came to mind. So, I'm saying this for a reason, PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!**

 **I'm out, peace!**

 ***signs off***


	6. Chapter 6

The Return

Chapter 6

Third Person POV

 **Before we begin, I would like to say that I'm sorry about the late uploads on both of my stories, it's hard juggling life and such, while also trying to write. Not only that, but school is going to be starting up soon, and because of that, I won't be able to update as much as I want to. Sorry guys, but I won't stop updating, just won't be able to update all the time.**

 **With that said, though, let's just jump right in, shall we?**

 ***jumps into a journal***

All night, the foxes couldn't sleep. They were in a new place, with a person they hadn't seen in years, and before they went to bed, that person seemed to have a little mental problem before he ran into his room. So, yes, both foxes were on edge about this place they were in, and both couldn't sleep.

"So, Fin, how have you been since we last saw each other?" Nick asks, trying to spark up a conversation between them. Darkness filled the room, but both were able to see each other due to their Night Vision. Nick looked over to Finnick, who was sleeping on the small chair that Noah had been sitting in hours before.

"I've been fine. How have you been?" He asks, not knowing what to fully say to the taller mammal. Nick moves his field of vision from his friend to the ceiling, taking in every small crack, every small line and detail was observed by Nick, and, from the amount of time it took him to answer Finnick's question, it seemed like he was lost in thought.

"I've been doing great. Judy and I have become very close friends, and we know each other's weaknesses and strengths when out on the field. Me and her do everything together, and we have grown so close as to start talking about moving into an apartment with each other." He answered, surprising Finnick. From the way it sounded, his life was a lot better than it was when the both of them were partners. The fennec had a small tinge of jealousy in him, but it was soon smashed by other thoughts raging his mind.

"Sounds like the two of you are pretty close." He says. Nick didn't notice it, but the smaller mammal was starting to form a devilish smile. "Some would even say, closer than what friends would want." Nick stiffens up at that, and, while he may not have meant to show it, but he started to blush slightly.

"People can say that, but it isn't true at all. We just care about each other a lot. We would do anything for each other…" Nick trails off, still looking away at the ceiling, not caring how he looked to his friend. Finnick then grew a bigger smile, thinking of a way to try and find out something about his friend.

"Ya know, I saw how Noah was looking at you earlier." Finnick says, lying. Nick then breaks his intense stare with the roof of the room, looking over at the smaller fox with a quick turn of his head. His eyes were wide, a blush on his face, and he seemed to have gained hope.

"H-how was he looking at me?" This question almost made Finnick laugh, knowing that he had Nick baited and hooked. All he had to do now was reel in his catch, and try and wiggle information from the bigger fox.

"Like he did when you both were madly in love with each other." He answers, looking Nick straight into the eyes. Both seemed to have a small staring contest, with neither giving up.

"We weren't madly in love, just… friends…" Nick says, getting a little sad right at the end of the sentence. Finnick raised an eyebrow to his friend. Was he actually sad about that, or did Nick know what he was trying to do?

"I don't know. You both were extremely close, and you both couldn't talk to each other for a few months without getting extremely awkward and cringey. If that doesn't say that you two loved each other, then I don't know what does." He saw Nick lay back, seemingly deep in thought once again. Finnick decided to not interrupt him this time around, not trying to seem like he was actually up to something.

"I did like him for a while, then he got shot, almost died, and we never saw him again for years…" Nick started, but seemed to stop towards the end. The fennec raised an eyebrow, looking at his friend's face as best as he can, and silently thought, 'Knew it.'

"But he's back! You are in his damn apartment for Christ's sake! He is just down the hall, in his bed, and you're claiming that, not once since you got to meet him again after all of these years, that you could try and make a move on him?! Or are you too chicken to do so, Nick? Is the Slick Fox that I knew for so many years finally giving up, because he thinks he met his match?!" Finnick was silently yelling at his friend, trying not to wake up Noah or any of the neighbors. Nick seemed to ponder this for a few minutes, not giving any facial expressions. It wasn't until almost half an hour later did he finally give his response.

"You're right, Fin! Why mope about on the past when he's right here, so close to being mine…" Nick was sitting up. He got so worked up that he removed his blankets, showing that he was not wearing pants at this time, and started to get up.

"What are you doing, Nick?" Finnick asked, starting to slowly sit up.

"I'm going to go talk to Noah, while I still have the courage to do so." Nick started to walk down the hall, towards the master bedroom. Finnick jumped up quickly, moving his small form around the small room, and flung himself in front of Nick's intended path. Nick glared down at the smaller mammal, trying to move around him. Finnick didn't let Nick get past him.

"Listen to me, Nick! You go down there right now, at almost 4 in the morning, and try to talk to him about what? Do you even have any way of doing this?" This question stopped Nick. He shook his head no, after a few minutes of just silence. "Then how are you going to do this?" Nick just shrugs, his eyes focused on the door leading into Noah's room.

"Sleep on it, Nick. Think about what you are going to say before doing it. Do that for me and for him." Nick sighs, knowing that his friend is right. Nick turned around and started to walk back to the couch, with Finnick following.

"Ya know, Nick, it's bad enough to walk around you with pants on, but without pants? Jeez, just kill me now." Nick knew what Finnick was trying to do. He was trying to remove some of the tension that he may be having from his inner thoughts. It worked slightly, and he smiled, and that was all Finnick wanted.

"So, tomorrow, what are you going to do?" Finnick asked.

"Talk to Noah." Nick answers, laying back down on the couch. Finnick smiles to him, nodding his head slightly, to which Nick does the same. Both lay down, with their backs facing each other. Nick's tail started to wag slightly at the thoughts of tomorrow ran through his head.

 **A/N: Rushed, not rushed?**

 **Like stated before, sorry for not uploading. Had a small writers block, and some other things that came up in my life, preventing me of uploading.**

 **I would do comments, but I don't think we have any new ones, so I'm just going to sign off for the night.**

 **(I can't promise when the next upload will be, so I tried to do something that was kind of hinted at in other chapters, guys!)**

 **FightingF0rW0lves, signing off. Goodnight/Good morning, depending on where you are.**


	7. Chapter 7

The Return

Chapter 7

Third Person POV

The night had come and gone. It had rushed by faster than what anyone inside the rundown apartment wanted, but nothing could change the fact that the night was over with.

Noah was the first one up, for once. Usually he slept in until noon, due to the fact that he's always up until 6 AM, working. So, he wasn't a morning person. But, due to the fox's intrusion last night, he had to stop editing the video that he was working on to try and create small talk. He would've went into his room to finish the video for the next day, but he didn't want to seem rude.

When Noah was finally up and moving, he had walked into his living room and heard snoring. Walking so he could see the whole living room, he saw the foxes that stayed the night at his house, and he smiled a little. He watched for a few minutes, then walked into the kitchen to make his breakfast.

"Pancakes, cereal, uh…. What is this, rat shit?" He quietly asked himself. He went through all of his breakfast items, and couldn't decide on any of the items that he wanted to eat.

"I can't go out either… I don't have enough money for even groceries. Why must life be so hard?" He asked himself, his face in his hands.

In the living room, Nick was woken from the loud noises that Noah was making. He slowly got up, yawning and stretching the sleepiness out of his slightly sore body. He heard talking coming from the kitchen, so he slowly got up, trying not to wake the sleeping fennec that was snoring slightly in the chair next to him. He walked into the kitchen, not listening to whatever Noah was saying to himself, but he did see that he looked distressed.

"What's wrong, Noah?" Nick had asked. Noah jumps slightly and turns to look at Nick.

"Morning Nick… I'm sorry about waking you, I was just… uh…" Noah started to trail off, not knowing what to say to his old friend. Nick tilts is head in confusion, looking at Nick from his stand point at the entrance of the kitchen.

"Look, Noah if you are worried that I am mad about you waking me, I'm not." Nick said, walking farther into the kitchen, smiling the whole way. He opened up cupboards and closed them just as quickly, noticing nothing to eat in any of them. "Noah, don't you have anything to eat?" Nick never saw it, but his human friend had tensed up quickly, not wanting to go down that path with him.

'If he freaked out over the fact that I wasn't able to pay my rent to my landlord, then he's surely going to flip his shit when he finds out that I have no food in this place to eat!' So Noah thought quickly, and he remembered that the owner of the diner down the street still owed him something.

"We're going out to breakfast!" Noah exclaimed, rather quickly. He started to move Nick out of the kitchen, which confused the fox.

"What are yo-"

"Cmon, we are going to a good breakfast joint!" Noah ran into the living room, and started to slow down when he got in front of Finnick. "Dude wake up, we're going out to breakfast, my treat." Finnick just moved a little bit, so Noah poked Finnick slightly on his side, where he started to growl in his sleep. Noah being a little jumpy, he retracted his hand from Finnick and ran from the chair.

"Should we just leave him alone, Nick?" The scared human asks. Nick was smiling a little, looking between Noah and Finnick.

"Yea, he's like me. He won't get up until noon." Nick says, staring at Finnick, who was sleeping the chair.

"Ok, well…" Noah began, walking towards his room to change into some clothes. "Get dressed and message your little friend. What was her name? Judy…?" Nick looked towards Noah.

"Why…?" Noah looked back at Nick, who became slightly nervous. "Well, I mean… I thought that we could just go by ourselves, so we could catch up some more…" Nick didn't know why he was acting so weird around this human. While he had admitted the night before that he might've kept his feelings for Noah over the years, but he wasn't sure why he was acting like this. Usually, he had a lot better hold on his feelings, yet here he was, acting as he did when he was younger around the human.

"Are you sure? I mean, I thought there was something going on between you two…" Noah had started, then trailed off after seeing Nick's face. "Alright, we can go, with just the two of us. Let me go get changed, and then we can head off…" And with that, Noah walked off towards his room.

* * *

 _ **Noah's POV**_

While I won't lie that my conversation with Nick did creep me out a little, especially with the way he was staring at me, I had just brushed it off that he was worried about me. Also, what Nick said about getting to know each other some more, would be kind of nice.

So, I put on the nicest thing that I had and walked back out into the living room. Inside said room was a snoring fennec and a pacing Nick, with his back towards me.

"Ready to go?" I ask, which, in turn, made the fox before me jump. I laughed slightly and walked to the door, with Nick following shortly after.

"Where are we going, Noah?" He asked me. I turned to him, looking him straight in the eyes and answered.

"To an old friends' restaurant. He owes me a little favor…" We walked down the hall, pretty close if you ask me. I could feel the fur from Nick's arm brush up against mine, making my skin crawl, but in a good sort of way. It confused me beyond belief why I thought that this felt good, but I made no attempt in stopping him from doing it.

The rest of the walk was quiet, with me glancing towards the fox next to me. The whole way there, he seemed distant and deep in thought, and I didn't want to disturb him from that, so I left him alone.

After another good ten minutes, we arrived to the small diner. I had called it a restaurant earlier, but it was too small to be called that. It was more classified to be a house than anything else, but I didn't care, and I don't think that Nick did either.

"You coming, Noah?" I hear someone ask. I hadn't realized it, but Nick had walked up to the door, and was staring back at me.

"Yea… Coming…" I answer, looking at him. Then there was something else I hadn't realized….

I was staring at Nick's ass the whole time he had walked through the door…

 _ **A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the long wait. A lot of things got in the way, including the hurricane that came through. I didn't have power for a few days, but I ain't complaining, with the whole farther south being either underwater or out of power. If you are one of the people who lost everything because of Matthew, I am terribly sorry about that, and my heart goes out to you. I hope, though, that everyone you know is okay and safe, and that you guys will be ok for the remaining time until all of this is a bad dream…**_

 _ **Now, a lot of you are probably mad that I hadn't uploaded in a while, but this chapter was rewritten at least five times before this final version was written, and I ain't all that happy with it. So, the next few updates that will be done will be on this and other previous chapters, to make them better for both your sake and my sanity.**_

 _ **Also, my other story will be updated soon. Just give me a while to write that and get it published.**_

 _ **So, that's all the time I have left for today, Time for me to go get some sleep.**_


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